If it's not an iPhone Why would I want it?

xtranormal iPhone parody

The business headlines this week have been dominated by Steve Jobs decision to step down as CEO of Apple, with Tim Cook the current COO taking over the reigns. Jobs says he will still retain input to all key decisions but the omission of a targeted return date as well as the lack of detail around his current illness have led some people to speculate he may not return.

As a result of the decision, released on a day the markets were closed and the day before expected positive financial results were posted, Apples shared dropped about 8% in European markets but then seemed to bounce back ahead of US markets opening on the anticipation of a positive firts quarter earnings report. The question that remains though is what is Apple, if anything, without Steve Jobs?

In most scenarios this would be ridiculous question. Apple has 47,000 employees and Jobs himself did not design, manufacture and distribute the iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad. Duff McDonald writes in CNN Money.com that “Steve Jobs is a wonder, but he is not a one-man $300 billion corporation. No one is.” And whilst this is true I suspect the reason most commentators are on to something here is less to do with Jobs himself and more to do with the substance of the legacy he is leaving behind.

As I posted last summer Apple relies more on innovation for its success than most other companies. Already there is a hungry pack chasing with alternative smart phones, light weight laptops and ergonomically efficient tablets. You only have to view the “iPhone vs. HTC Evo xtranormal parody” which got more than 11 million views to appreciate that much of Apples success is based on good marketing that encourages us to buy what we ‘want’ rather than what we ‘need’.

And importantly key to that innovation and promotion is Jobs himself. As I mentioned in my previous post Apple were stagnating before Jobs came back and he reinvigorated their product line and restored the brands ultra-cool status.

Whilst Jobs is not the ‘brick and mortar’ of the company he is the award winning leading man. The question is does Apple have another showman in the wings to ensure the ratings lead continues? There seems to be enough current momentum in the short term but only time will tell if Apple after Jobs can retain the same cache beyond that.